by Unknown
Could hear the gentle inhale of her breath, could sense the indent of her body beside his.
But the cold sheets stretc to¡eets strehed so far between them that he would have had to reach right out to brush his skin against hers.
And he wanted to. Damn, did he want to. Instead he silently pummelled his fist into his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping sleep would come quickly. “'Night.”
Penny’s soft voice jolted his eyes back open.
“Good night,” he said back, voice hoarse.
He wondered how long they’d lie there, awake yet pretending they weren’t. Both thinking, wondering, waiting.
So close but so far apart.
She’d agreed to pretend. For now.
So maybe, just maybe, she’d give him that second chance he was so desperate for.
Back in the Soldier’s Arms/Here Comes the Groom
CR!93BHZ3MAHS4NVAVVWQG1QCZMZ0ZB
CHAPTER SIX
DANIEL woke up early. He didn’t know what woke him, but he knew why he’d slept so well, and why he didn’t want to move.
It had been almost a year since he’d woken with the weight of his wife in bed with him, the warmth of her body, the sound of her gentle breathing. It paralyzed him. Made him hold his own breath for fear of waking her. He stayed as still as an arrow stuck in timber, barely quivering.
Somehow in the night they’d gone from being separated by cold sheets to rolling against one another. Bodies skimming, touching enough for him to want to carefully place an arm around Penny and draw her in close.
But he didn’t.
Because he hadn’t earned the right to touch her yet. To hold her deep in his embrace.
He’d waited for this for so long. Wanted this for so long.
And he still did, even if his mind was scrambling.
He knew it wasn’t Penny’s fault that she’d had to go away again. Hell, she’d been the most heartbroken of all when she’d been called up again.
But part of him knew it was going to be hard all over again. That there was a chance he could go back to that dark place he’d fallen into while she’d been away last time.
What he’d done, the way he’d hurt her, had spiked him back into action. Pulled him from the pain, but he was struggling, too. Hurting, too.
Because he’d broken his own heart as well as Penny’s when he’d woken up to the consequences of being with another woman. It had all been too much. Not having Penny, trying to raise Gabby on his own while running a new business, leaving the navy behind and adjusting to being so darn alone that he’d wondered how he managed to breathe sometimes. To keep his head above water.
He’d gone from flying high in the navy as a pilot, surrounded by other men, friends, and with eve9H5he&#xry day presenting an exciting challenge.
To living in suburbia as a solo dad.
Penny stirred beside him, turning her face into the pillow and rolling half her body away.
Daniel slipped his lower arm from between them and used it to brace his weight as he eased himself from the bed. As much as he wanted to lie there with her, the last thing he needed was Penny waking and feeling uncomfortable.
“Daddy?”
Daniel only had one foot out of the bed when he heard Gabby. She was standing in the door, hair all mussed up and a smile on her face. Her eyes were still bleary from sleep and she was clutching her favorite furry toy under her arm. A floppy-eared bunny that had seen better days.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said.
Gabby padded over quietly, rubbing at her eyes with one fisted hand. She looked at him, then at Penny, then back at him again.
He wondered what she was thinking.
Penny sat up, like she’d been jolted awake.
“Gabby?” she asked, blinking furiously as she struggled to wake up.
Daniel sat back down on the bed, on top of the covers, and patted the spot between them. “Up you come.”
Gabby didn’t need to be asked twice. She climbed up the bed, wriggling into the pillows as she sat between them.
Daniel tried not to watch as Penny ran a hand through her hair, trying to tame her usually straight locks into compliance. But he couldn’t not look at the smile on her face as Gabby touched her arm.
“Is it really my birthday today?” she asked, like she wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not.
Daniel laughed, bending down to press a kiss to her cheek. She squirmed but didn’t stop smiling.
“Sure is, kiddo,” he said, grinning at Penny over their daughter’s head as she laughed, too. “And I heard a rumor that you might like a few presents?”
She squealed. “Yes!”
He looked away as Penny adjusted the top of her camisole, not wanting to see her bare skin or even think about the fact they’d shared a bed.
Daniel rolled half off the bed and reached beneath it, pulling out a few small, wrapped gifts before swinging back up to give them to Gabby.
“These,” he said, holding them out of her reach for a second to watch the excitement blur across her face, “are for you. Happy birthday, Gabby.”
She eagerly reached for them, ripping into one straight away.
“I’m just going to get some breakfast,” he said, slipping out of bed. “You open these with Mommy and I’ll be right back.”
Gabby hardly looked up, she was so excited about her presents, but Penny met his gaze. He gave her a wink and a smile, hoping she’d realize what he was up to.
So much had happened yesterday they hadn’t even had a chance to talk about gifts, but he’d made a big effort this year, so he didn’t expect anyone to be disappointed.
Gabby’s laughter and excited chatter followed him as he hot-footed it to the garage.
He couldn’t wait to see the look s s±e the looon Gabby’s face when she saw her main present.
Penny folded her arm around Gabby and pulled her close. She inhaled the sweet smell of her hair, enjoyed the tiny warm body pressed against hers.
Paper was strewn across the bed, and Gabby was transfixed with looking at her things.
“I have something else for you,” Penny told her, reaching for a small package she had placed beside the bed before climbing in the night before.
It was small, but beautifully wrapped. She’d purchased it on a layover on the way home.
“What is it?” Gabby fingered the square present, like she wasn’t sure what could be in there. What could be so small.
“Open it and see.”
Gabby didn’t rip the pink paper. Instead she tugged at the silver bow and slid her little finger beneath the tape. The way a grown-up would, as if she sensed that there was something special inside.
Gabby looked up wide-eyed as she opened it, before staring at the present within.
“It’s a charm bracelet,” Penny told her, taking it from the box and fastening it around Gabby’s wrist. “There are five charms on it now, and every birthday and Christmas I’ll buy you another to add to it.”
Gabby held up her wrist to look at the charms. “Thanks, Mommy.”
Penny pulled her closer for a cuddle and tried not to cry. Her own mother had given her a charm bracelet when she was ten, and Penny had been wanting to do the same for Gabby since she was born. She was probably still too young to have one, but she didn’t care. When Penny missed her mother more than usual sometimes, she still fastened her own back on her wrist.
“Drum roll, please.” Daniel’s playful tone echoed down the hall.
Gabby leaped up, jumping up and down on the bed as if it were a trampoline. What …?
Gabby gasped as Daniel wheeled in a brand-new pink bike, complete with flowing streamers tied to the handlebars. Gabby’s squeal told them she loved it.
“Happy birthday, Gabs. This is from me and your mom.”
Gabby leaped from the bed and grabbed on to the handlebars like she was never going to let go.
“Can I ride it?”
Daniel raised an eyebrow at her.
“How about we get dressed first, then we can take it outside,” Penny suggested.
“And you’ll need to get your new matching pink helmet from the table first, too,” Daniel told her.
Gabby sprinted off to find her helmet, leaving Daniel standing forlorn with the bike.
“That’s a seriously good present, Danny,” Penny said.
As soon as his nickname fell from her mouth she felt a burning flush hit her cheeks. She hadn’t said his nickname, the name that only she called him, since she’d been home.
Somehow, sitting in bed, in their bedroom, and calling him Danny felt too intimate.
“Can I tempt you with breakfast?” he asked.
Penny tugged the sheets a little tighter around herself. “That would be great,” she said honestly. Her stomach rumbled in agreement.
“Waffles still your favorite?”
She closed her eyes and leaned back for a beat. “Yeah, they are.”
And they were only her favorite because Daniel had made them for her every Sunday since they’d been together, whenever they were both off-duty at home.
“Do you remember the first time I made you waffles?” he asked, voice low, almost hoarse.
Penny nodded, fighting the smile that so desperately wanted to escape to trace her lips.
She remembered, all right. How could she ever forget?
“It was the first morning we’d woken up together,” she remembered out loud. “I stayed tucked up in bed while you went out to the store.”
Daniel leaned against the wall, his eyes never leaving hers. It was as if he was caressing her with his gaze, with his memories. His face showed an openness and warmth that she couldn’t turn away from.
“I made you waffles with maple syrup.”
“With strawberries, melon and blueberries on the side,” she finished, too carried away with the memories to stop.
“We had a pot of coffee and we sat out in the sun, talking about everything and anything.”
Penny didn’t know what to say. Or where to look.
Daniel was still watching her, conveying so much feeling in his gaze that she could feel a slithering-snake kind of nervousness building in her belly.
“Are you coming?” Gabby called at the top of her lungs.
They continued to stare at one another in silence.
Until Daniel broke the quiet that had fallen around them.
“Yeah, in a sec, honey.”
Penny folded the sheet beneath her forefinger and thumb. The air around them seemed limited, like there wasn’t enough of it in the room to service both their lungs.
“We should go,” she said.
Daniel hesitated, before sighing and tightening his grip on the bike. “Yeah.”
“Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be right out.”
Daniel turned, before stopping, the rise then fall of his shoulders signaling there was something left he wanted to say. That he had something else on his mind.
“We had some great times, Penny.”
She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. His back was still turned.
“The best,” she whispered.
And they were memories she’d never be able to let go of for as long as she lived.
The house was full of guests before Penny had had time to catch her breath. Other little kids, friends she hadn’t seen in far too long and Daniel’s family.
“Pen!”
She spun and found herself in the arms of one of her closest friends. “Sammi! It’s been way too long.” They hugged tight.
“You look great. You know, for being in the desert so long.”
Penny laughed. “Yeah, well, there’s something to be said for being out in the open all day.”
Sammi kept her tight against her, arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“How are you, really?” her friend asked.
Penny dropped her head to rest on Sammi’s shoulder. “Really?” she asked, sighing. “I’m coping, but it’s hard. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Sammi didn’t say anything back, she didn’t need to. They’d been friends long enough to just be.
“We’re here for you. Don’t you ever forget that, okay?”
Penny snuggled closer into her shoulder, then raised her head. “You’re the best.” “Who’s the best?”
Gabby poked her head between them.
“Hey, birthday girl!” Penny grabbed hold of her hands and gave her an impromptu twirl. “You been showing off that shiny new bike?”
Gabby bounced on the spot like only an exuberant child can.
“Yeah. The boys are way jealous.” Penny and Sammi both laughed.
“I’m going to go help your dad in the kitchen. Why don’t you go play?”
“Is it almost cake time?”
Penny ruffled her hair then gave her a gentle push away. “Almost. Now go have fun.”
Sammi squeezed her hand before she walked away.
“You’re the strongest person I know, Pen. You will get through this.”
Penny brushed a tear from the corner of her eye and made for the kitchen.
Only to run smack-bang into the man she was crying over.
“Oops.” Daniel did a fast sideways maneuver and jumped out of her way, a plate of goodies held above his head.
“Sorry, Danny, I mean—” she stuttered, wishing she could stop herself from calling him that. “Do you, ah, need any help? I didn’t mean to leave you for so long.”
He grinned. “Everyone’s so excited to have you home. Go enjoy yourself.”
The way he looked at her, his dark hair skimming his forehead as it flicked forward slightly, made her want to twist away and run. But she stood her ground, trying to be brave.
“You want one before the kids get their sticky mitts on them?”
He lowered the tray and held it out. Penny reached for a mini hot dog and dipped it in the sauce.
“I’m so full from breakfast still.”
Daniel looked up at her with such warmth in his eyes he almost made her choke on the meat.
“How about you put the candles in the cake and I’ll ferry this out into the room?” he suggested.
Penny walked a few steps backward and watched him go.
Wishing she had the nerve to pull him in for a kiss and steal his breath away. To see if it still felt the same, to see if she could forget.
To see if what they’d once had was still there.
But she didn’t. Instead she bit the inside of her mouth and started fossicking through the nearest drawer for candles.
“They’re in the top drawer.”
Daniel’s deep voice made her hands still. Caught her unaware.
Penny froze as he hovered behind her. Daniel’s large frame had stopped, paused behind her so close she could feel him, could lean back and find herself pressed against his hard chest.
She shut her eyes. Didn’t know what to do.
Was powerless to stop the pull of her body toward the man she knew so intimately.
“Here,” he whispered, placing his hand over hers and guiding it to the right drawer.
Penny didn’t fight his touch. Couldn’t. Because it had been so long since she’d had this kind of contact with a man, with her man.
Daniel’s breath was soft on the back of her neck, made her skin prickle all over.
She could see the candles, but his hand hadn’t moved and she was powerless to move her own away from his.
“Penny,” he whispered, transferring his hold to her wrist and turning it over in his grip so that she had to turn.
She didn’t say his name back, but she didn’t resist either. Turned as he gently spun her.
To find herself facing his chest, her eyes level with his collarbone. Penny lifted her gaze slowly, up his neck, to his jaw and then to his eyes.
The need, the desire she saw there, made her step back, her bottom hitting the kitchen bench.
But Daniel was too quick, had seen it coming, and cupped
her waist with both his hands to stop her from getting away.
“Let me kiss you, Penny,” he whispered, his voice low and husky.
She didn’t know what to say. She wanted it and yet she didn’t, but her body betrayed her. Her mouth parted, responding to the call his was putting out.
“Danny,” she whispered, wanting to tell him no yet failing badly.
He bent, mouth so close to crushing hers. Penny’s head dipped back, her body dangerously close to Daniel’s. “Daddy?” They both froze.
Daniel pulled back, his hands sliding from Penny’s waist to slowly hang back at his sides.
She gripped the bench behind her, legs shaking. “Yeah,” he said gruffly.
“What are you doing to Mommy? Isn’t it cake time yet?”
“We’re, um, looking for candles,” Penny said, cheeks burning at being caught by their daughter.
“Oh, okay,” Gabby said, skipping out of the room.
Daniel turned almost-black eyes at her and smiled.
“I’ll get those candles,” she said, needing the distance from him, hoping he stepped backward rather than toward her.
“I’ll, ah, take the rest of the food out.”
She listened to Daniel pick up another tray and walk out.
It only just gave her enough time to flop forward on the bench, her elbows resting on it so she could cradle her head in her hands for a moment.
Coming home was harder than she’d expected it to be. So hard it made her feel as if a ton of concrete was trapped on her chest, c th±er chest,rushing her lungs.
She’d expected to be so angry with Daniel that she wouldn’t even be able to look at him. Disgusted with what he’d done.
But now she was here, it was the memories of what they’d had that kept playing through her mind.
She still couldn’t forgive him, but forgetting their past seemed to be as difficult as forgetting what he’d done.
Penny forced her head up and reached for the candles. She chose the five prettiest ones from the pack and pushed them carefully into the cake.
Daniel had asked for a chance to prove himself last night, to pretend for Gabby’s sake.
She hadn’t wanted to hear the details before. To talk about what had gone wrong in their marriage.
